Ecological sciences deal with the study of the interaction, through energy transfer and material cycling, between organisms and their biotic and abiotic environment. Zoological topics concerning ecology might include: the effect of invasive species on an ecosystem; the bio-geography of species over time; the effect of humans on an ecosystem; pioneer species in the wake of an ecological disaster.
Biological evolution is the changes that occur in the properties of groups of organisms over the course of generations. Evolution takes place through the selection of adaptive mutations by natural selection. Zoological research paper topics on evolution might include: species adaptation in the face of man-made influences on the environment; evolutionary changes in the face of climatic changes; changes in reproductive behavior over time; and, the mutational effects of toxic substances in aquatic environments.
The transmission of diseases between organisms is both of ecological concerns, and of concern because of the potential for some animals to pass on diseases to humans. Epidemiology is the study of the population dynamics of disease transmission. Zoological research topics in disease transmission and epidemiology might include: the bio-geography of the Western Nile Virus; the transmission of HIV between apes and humans; and the effects of human-introduced myxomatosis on rabbit populations.
Animal behavioral science is the study of all aspects of animal behavior, in relation to each other, of their species and their environment. Zoological neurobiology concerns the study of the neural processes present in the brains of animals, how they use and adapt sensory information as the basis of action. Zoological research topics in animal behavioral science and neurobiology might include: animal mating habits; delinquent behavior in animals in the absence of dominant elders; and the effects of domestication on the mental capacity of animals.